They Can't Even Speak

An interview with UNICEF communication consultant based in Chengdu when the most powerful earthquake in modern times struck China. UNICEF relief goods – tents, quilts, medical supplies and school kits – are being rushed to the hardest hit communities where thousands of children are in need of help.

In the pouring rain, rescuers are still racing against time to search for survivors in the Juyuan Township Middle School that collapsed in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12. The school is about 100 km away from the epicenter in Wenchuan County. Up to now, some 50 people are confirmed dead with about 100 still buried beneath.

"The rescue work goes on very slowly Thursday. The little corpses pulled out from rubble are carried out of the school and laid somewhere, waiting for their parents to claim. But as most families live in remote areas, their parents are still trekking in the rain on the muddy road, hoping that they could be there by their side." Mr. Wang Shuguang, Chengdu-based UNICEF programme consultant said. Wang and other volunteers went to Juyuan town to deliver food and water to people in need two days after the quake.

"The surviving students can't even speak a word after being saved from the debris. They just cry."

After the quake jolted the region, Wang immediately rushed to the hart-hit Dujiangyan city to look for his own child. "I found my little girl on the play ground. I could hardly recognize her. She looked so pitifully dirty and stank, drinking only the rainwater." This is what most of the school children face in uncollapsed buildings, he recalled.

The surviving students are enclosed in the school grounds to protect them from reoccurring tremors and other possible harms. But they have no food, clean drinking water or power as the relief efforts are now mainly focused on the collapsed schools.

"The children and their families are in dire need of shelters, water, and basic life necessities. They also need us to stand by their side and hold their hand to get over this tragedy." Wang said.

Up to now, there is no official assessment of the children affected by the devastating earthquake. But it is estimated that there are 2.3 million children in the worst-hit region who may have been affected. UNICEF is now mobilizing its resources and has procured a total of USD430,000 worth of vital medical kits, tents, water and sanitation equipment to support China's relief efforts. The first batch may reach the capital city Chengdu in one or two days.